Model Homes Open in The Reserve at Clear Lake City

July 2, 2015

Trendmaker Homes has opened a new residential community in Clear Lake City, the southeast Houston suburb’s first new home development in two decades.

The longtime Houston homebuilder, a subsidiary of Tri Pointe Homes Inc. (NYSE: TPH), plans to construct 740 homes at the The Reserve at Clear Lake City, located along Space Center Boulevard, just east of Ellington Field near Beltway 8 and the Gulf Freeway.

Trendmaker purchased the 372-acre site in 2013 from Fidelis Realty Partners, which is developing a large shopping center anchored by an H-E-B grocery store on about 40 acres adjacent to The Reserve at Clear Lake City. Fidelis Realty Partners wanted more rooftops to support its new retail development, so the The Houston shopping developer partnered with luxury homebuilder Trendmaker.

The first phase of the new community will feature 165 high-end homes, a mix of traditional single-family and patio homes on 55-, 70- and 80-foot lots.

The traditional two-story homes range in size from 3,266 to 5,090 square feet, offering four to five bedrooms, three and a half to five and half bathrooms and two- or three-car garages. The homes feature amenities like an optional media room, cable TV wiring in the master bathroom, a laundry chute and a secret room accessible through a hidden bookshelf door. Prices start in the $490,000s.

The one-story to two-story patio homes range in size from 2,433 to 3,168 square feet, offering two to three bedrooms, two and a half to three and a half bathrooms, and two- or three-car garages. The homes feature double ovens in an open kitchen, covered porches and an outdoor kitchen, all inside a gated section of the community. Prices start in the high $440,000s.

Trendmaker has finished two model homes in The Reserve at Clear Lake City, and has pre-sold nearly 40 homes so far. Houston-based Village Builders and Westlake Village, California-based Ryland Homes also are building traditional single-family homes in the community.

A community recreation center, featuring a pool, splash park, tennis courts, playgrounds and sand volleyball court, is expected to open summer of 2016. Miles of connected trails are also planned for the community. Residents will be zoned to Clear Lake Independent School District.

Trendmaker Homes executives said there is pent-up demand for new homes in Clear Lake City.

The southeast Houston suburb was developed by Houston-based Friendswood Development Co. to support employees at the Johnson Space Center in the 1960s. Once a top-selling community, Clear Lake City is now mostly built-out, its last major housing development constructed about 20 years ago. With a strong, educated base of NASA engineers and doctors working in the nearby Texas Medical Center, the resale housing and remodeling market has remained strong in Clear Lake.

“In its heyday, Clear Lake was a premier community, like The Woodlands or Kingwood,??? said Collins Pier, Trendmaker’s director of acquisitions and development. “So, when you have an opportunity to come back in, it’s great. There’s a lot of interest from folks here for something new.???

At a pre-sale event earlier this year, interest in Trendmaker Homes’ new community was overwhelming, so much so that people camped overnight to purchase homes, according to Trendmaker President Will Holder. It’s something he’s never seen in his more than 35 years in the business, Holder said.

“The response has been outstanding,??? Holder said. “We think it’s going to be one of our best-selling communities. I don’t think there is any more land to develop in Clear Lake after this. This is the last hurrah.???